Gill leads strong class for women's golf

RENO - Galena High's Lux Gill leads a strong class of four players who have signed during the fall signing period with first-year women's golf coach Jody Dansie for the University of Nevada.

Joining Gill are Stephanie Johns, a golfer with more than 50 wins from Ashland, Ore., Melanie de Leon, a mult-sport athlete from Saugus, Calif., and Christina Schams, a top player from Chandler, Ariz.

"This 2005 recruiting class has been the biggest class with the most talent we have seen in women's golf in a long time," Danise said. "Recruiting these talented players was not easy and took some dedication not only on my part to prove to them that Nevada was the best place for them, but also by my team and the entire athletics department. I couldn't be more excited about these four ladies and am looking forward to watching them grow and mature and become very successful student-athletes."

Gill, the younger sister of current Nevada golfer Chandeni Gill, is a state champion and a four-time Nevada player-of-the-year. She was the 4A state runner-up in 2004 and won the Northern Nevada title four straight years, 2001 through 2004. She finished third in the Nevada state amateur and is a three-time Reno city champion. She has been on the Northern Nevada America's Cup team the past four years.

Johns has won more than 50 junior tournaments over the past four years, has 24 second-place finishes and nine third-place showings - that's more than 80 top three finishes. A two-time Polo Golf Junior All-America honorable mention selection in 2003 and 2004, she was named the AJGA Transamerica Junior at Hiwan in 2004 and the Ping Junior at Sunriver in 2003. She is also a competitive snowboarder.

A native of Saugus, Calif., de Leon was her high school's female athlete-of-the-year last year. She was the 2003 Los Angeles Daily News and Santa Clarita Signal Player-of-the-Year and made the Los Angeles Times all-star team that same year. She was a SAMMY Scholastic winner and has captured titles in three major tournaments including the AJGA Qualifier and the California Girls' State Junior Championship in 2004 as well as the Burbank City title in 2003. She also plays on the softball and basketball teams.

Schams is the top player on her high school team in suburban Phoenix and was the MVP as a freshman and sophomore. She was part of the 2003 JGAA Quintero Cup and has had numerous top 10 finishes over the past four years. A three-year letter winner, she has a handicap of 3.8 and an overall grade-point average of 3.63.